1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a securing apparatus and more particularly to such a securing apparatus which is adaptable to a wide variety of operative environments and which, in the preferred embodiment, is operable to permit people, such as the elderly, the disabled and the obese, conveniently and comfortably to wear shoes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Daily activities present a multitude of difficulties to certain types of people which are not experienced by the public generally. Such mundane activities as dressing can be particularly bothersome to people lacking the degree of manual dexterity required for the operation comfortably to be performed. The fact that such activities as dressing must be performed two or more times on a daily basis and similarly require a certain attention to detail in order to present a pleasing appearance, make such activities particularly onerous. The disabled, the elderly and large or obese persons face this difficulty to one degree or another. In the case of, for example, people disabled by arthritis, this difficulty is not only acute but accompanied by varying degrees of pain which not only interferes with performance of the operation, but also drains the person of energy, particularly when performed several times during a day. Although such people may have assistance from family members, nurses, trained assistants, or the like, this is not only inconvenient but detracts from the person's sense of independence and worth.
The act of putting on and removing of shoes presents particular problems in this regard. Most shoes, whether worn by males or females, are secured on the foot by laces which require the user to grasp both ends of the lace of the shoe in their hands, draw the ends tight to draw the lace flaps toward each other, and then manipulate the lace ends so as to tie the ends together to form, for example, a bow. The manual dexterity required is frequently beyond the capability of the elderly and of disabled people, or they may lack the degree of dexterity required to perform this operation satisfactorily. In other cases, the age, disability or size of the person may make it difficult or impossible for the person to bend over sufficiently to perform the operation satisfactorily. While it is possible to provide such people with slippers, or slip on type shoes, these present other difficulties and may not provide the support, comfort or appearance desired by the person.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have a securing apparatus which is adapted for use in conveniently drawing a pair of work objects toward each other and which has particular utility in permitting people possessing limited manual dexterity to wear shoes of a lace type without having to perform the manipulations normally required while, at the same time, permitting the shoe to be comfortably secured on the foot, worn without risk of coming loose and removed when desired with an ease suited to the capabilities of preson wearing the shoe.